Lake Michigan Fishing Report 9/1/09

[Woody]

Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: September 1, 2009

Kenosha Co.
In Kenosha shore fishing in the harbor for browns has been hit-or-miss. When the browns are biting, spawn sacs and white tube jigs have been taking the most fish. Chinooks have been taken near the mouth of the Pike River and in upstream locations. Kenosha trollers have also been catching chinooks in shallow water near the mouth of the Pike.

Racine Co.
Shore fishing off the Racine piers has been relatively slow, but in the harbor browns have been hitting silver spoons fished high in the water column. Trollers out of Racine have been finding chinooks in front of the harbor, as well as chinooks, rainbows, and browns east of the reef marker in 60 to 80 feet of water. Glow-in-the-dark or green spoons and pearl J-plugs have been producing.

Milwaukee Co.
In Milwaukee McKinley pier and the shoreline behind the Summerfest grounds have produced some chinooks and browns, and most fish have been taken on spoons. Shore anglers in South Shore Park have been catching decent numbers of perch on minnows and crab tails. Trollers out of Milwaukee have been catching chinooks, coho, rainbows, and browns 20 to 40 feet down in 40 to 70 feet of water; and browns have also been taken by boaters in the harbor and around the gaps.

Ozaukee Co.
Pier anglers in Port Washington have been catching a few browns and rainbows on alewives and spoons, and shore anglers near the power plant have been taking browns and chinooks on spawn. Trollers out of Port have reported chinooks, coho, and browns taken 30 to 40 feet down in 80 to 100 feet of water. Green or orange spoons have produced fish, as well as glow-in-the-dark J-plugs.

Sheboygan Co.
In Sheboygan anglers fishing on the piers have been catching a few chinooks, rainbows, and browns. Both green & silver spoons and alewives have been producing. Sheboygan trollers have been taking mostly chinooks along with a few coho and rainbows, and fish have been found in front of the harbor as well as in 100 to 125 feet of water.

Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: August 31, 2009

Fishing in the Manitowoc and Two Rivers area this week was a little slower than during previous weeks because of unfavorable weather conditions that included rainy and windy days.

Manitowoc
Pier anglers in Manitowoc had some success early in the week but by the weekend fishing slowed sharply. Most anglers were casting 3/4 oz or 1 oz reflective spoons with green, blue, yellow, or white tape to add a splash of color. By Sunday afternoon many anglers moved to just inside the mouth of the Manitowoc River (downstream of the first bridge), however, fishing was slow with very few trout or salmon harvested. Boat anglers had some success trolling on Lake Michigan this week. Anglers were trolling in 20 to 100 feet of water looking for fish but fishing success was only fair. Harvest numbers varied from 2 to 8 fish per boat.

Two Rivers
In Two Rivers, pier anglers had a fair week of fishing with some good days and some very slow days. On Sunday afternoon most anglers were fishing on the south pier. Anglers were using a variety of baits including fishing alewife off the bottom, casting spoons or diving stick baits. A few nice Chinook salmon were caught that weighed between 14 and 18 pounds. Boat anglers trolling Lake Michigan had some productive trips this week. Boat anglers covered a wide range of water depths with some trolling around the piers in 20 to 60 feet of water while others trolled in 150 to 300 feet of water. Boat anglers harvested a good mix of Chinook salmon, rainbow trout and coho salmon.

Kewaunee Co.
Weather this past week was seasonal for most of the week, but cooler temperatures and rain moved in for the end of the week. Winds were calm out of the south to start the week, but switched to the west and picked up towards the end of the week. Some salmon have already begun to get darker as the fall spawning run gets closer, and there have even been some fish being spotted up the Kewaunee River. Anglers have been reporting some good success casting spoons for trout and salmon off of the piers in Algoma and Kewaunee. Fish are starting to be taken at all times of the day, but more are being caught at sunrise and sunset. Anglers that have been going out on the lake had a slower week of fishing. Kings and steelhead still account for most of the catch with there being more kings than steelhead being caught. Anglers are finding more salmon out farther this week due to warmer water. Most fish are being caught in water depths between 50 and 80 feet with most anglers fishing over water that is in the 80 to 120 feet range. Most anglers have been using a combination of dipsies and flashers and flies, but spoons and J-plugs have also been having success as well. The most common colors seem to be either a bright green or blue.

Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides)
Poor weather conditions and rough seas made for only fair action out on Lake Michigan. Most of the salmon action was to be found along the edges of the bank reef in 90 to 120 feet of water. Chinook salmon are starting to move into the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal and a few have been taken by shore anglers and anglers fishing from the piers at the Coast Guard station. A few Northern Pike are being taken along the channel in the area between the bridges in the Bay of Sturgeon Bay, as well as Little Sturgeon, Riley’s Bay, Sand Bay and Sawyer Harbor. Walleye action was slow to fair, Henderson Point, Sherwood Point, the Sturgeon Bay flats and Dunlap Reef, as well as well as the area around Horseshoe Island all produced a few fish. Crawler harnesses and crank baits seem to be the best for walleyes. Smallmouth Bass fishing was fair throughout the county. Little Sturgeon, Riley’s Bay and Sand Bay produced a few fish. Plastics, spinner baits, crank baits along with some top waters all produced a few fish when fished along weed edges and over rock piles. Perch fishing was fair to good along weed edges and the can line in Sturgeon Bay as well as off of Chaudoir’s dock. Minnows and night crawlers are the baits of choice for perch.

Green Bay Fishing Report: August 26, 2009

West Shore Fishing pressure remains moderate to heavy on the weekends with light pressure during the week. Temperatures at the landings are running from the mid sixties to the low seventies with good water clarity.

Oconto Co.
Perch fishermen are reporting some success from Pensaukee to Oconto Park II. The fish when you find them are in 8 to 14 feet of water adjacent to weed beds. Minnows and slip bobbers or crappie rigs are working the best. The dam at Stiles is still producing some nice blue gills on crawlers and leaf worms. Oconto Breakwater is reporting some brown trout activity on the north side of the causeway in the pre dawn hours.

Marinette Co.
Smallmouth bass are feeding in and around the Peshtigo harbor, crank baits and spinners are working well. Little River is seeing some success with perch in 12 to 14 feet of water south of the landing, look for the weed beds. The Menominee River smallmouth bite from the Light House pier to Stephenson Island has been good as of late, minnows are working best Some nice walleye are also being taken from the Menominee drifting crawlers in the holes from the train bridge to the turn basin. Salmon fishermen are congregating on both the Light House and the Government piers before first light and are starting to catch salmon on spoons.